The Mexican national team was forced to return luxury watches gifted to them by content creator Steve Will Doit, before facing Ecuador in the 2026 World Cup.
The Mexican team achieved a victory over Ecuador (2-0) in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup.
The Mexican team is preparing to face the English team, early Monday morning, in the round of 16 of the 2026 World Cup.
FIFA law forces Mexico to return luxury watches
The Mexican team participating in the World Cup returned a set of luxury watches, gifted to them by American content creator Steve Will Doit, according to the British "BBC" network.
Steven Deleonardis, known as Steve Will Doit online and followed by more than 1.5 million subscribers on YouTube, presented a watch to each player of the Mexican team in their training camp in preparation for their match in the round of 32 against Ecuador.
In a video posted on his channel, he mentioned that the value of the collection is one million dollars, with each watch valued between 30,000 and 90,000 dollars.
The Mexican team issued a statement through its official social media accounts, explaining that by mutual agreement, the players decided to return the watches to Deleonardis, who gifted them as a personal initiative.
When Mexican midfielder Obed Vargas asked him why he gave the gift to the team, Deleonardis explained that he lives in Mexico and bet two million dollars on Mexico's victory over Ecuador in the round of 32, which he previously mentioned in the video that he would make a profit of one million dollars, the assumed total value of the watches.
However, FIFA's Code of Ethics imposes restrictions on giving and accepting gifts, as Article 21 states that such gifts may only be given or accepted if they are "of symbolic value."
The federation indicates that violating this rule is punishable by a fine of no less than 10,000 Swiss francs (12,500 US dollars) and "a ban from participating in any football-related activity for a maximum of two years."
